Environment Agency speeding boater prosecution makes waves
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Author: |
Jane Nower |
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Date published: |
4-Mar-2008 |
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Keywords: |
Speed, boat, wash, Surrey Police |
A speeding boater was brought to justice thanks to a partnership between the Environment Agency and Surrey Police Force, after the wash from his boat caused damage to property and potential danger to life in Summer 2007.
On Wednesday 28 February 2008, Darren Chapman, of Admirals Way, Gravesend, Kent pleaded guilty before Staines Magistrates’ Court to travelling at speed without due consideration for others on the River Thames at Sunbury on the 7 July 2007. The defendant’s speed was said to be the nautical equivalent of a car driver doing 90 mph in a 30 mph limit on a road. He was fined £250 and ordered to pay compensation of £446.50 to an aggrieved riverside homeowner on Thames Court Island, as well as prosecution costs of £479, making a total cost of £1,175.
Mr Chapman, 39, was spotted travelling downstream in his boat “The Flyer”, at a speed estimated at between 15 and 20 miles per hour by off-duty special constable Christopher Wills. SPC Wills and his companions shouted at the defendant, asking him to slow down, which he did.
However, as the officers travelled upstream they were hailed by Mr. Peter Robertson of Thames Court Island, who complained that a two to three foot wash from “The Flyer” had caused damage to his property. The force of the wash caused part of a block from a mooring wall to fall into his boat. In trying to secure the boats as Mr Chapman sped by, Mr Robertson’s next door neighbour fell in to the river.
Pleading guilty to speeding and causing wash, Chapman told the court he took full responsibility and was extremely sorry for his behaviour. He explained he had not navigated the Thames before and had only just bought the boat . He purchased the boat in Tewkesbury and had then taken the boat by road to Windsor Marina where he started his journey to Gravesend. He said he had not fully understood the need for low speed and care on the River Thames before this but was now much wiser and had learnt a hard lesson.
Environment Agency waterways team leader Carl Walters said: “The maximum speed for boats on the Thames is eight kilometres per hour (five miles per hour) for very good reasons. Excessive speed causes excessive wash which can be extremely dangerous to other river users, especially those in small boats. The excessive wash can also destabilise banks and cause damage as in this case, and can affect wildlife such as nesting water birds. It is also generally anti-social.
“Anyone taking up boating should be fully aware of the rules, regulations and general code of river behaviour. This information can be found in the our publication ‘A user’s guide to the River Thames’ which can be picked up at locks or downloaded from www.visitthames.co.uk ”
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